ASLEF drivers think pink

28 April 2015

Today some of ASLEF's female membership who work as tube drivers joined the Labour Party's pink bus on a stop in its tour of London.

Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the Labour Party, Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North, Val Shawcross, Member of the London Assembly for Lambeth and Southwark, and Amy Lame, TV and radio presenter, took time to talk to them about what is really like to be a tube driver and why there are still so few women in the job. One of the female drivers believed that many women didn’t apply because the job isn’t very glamorous but Harriet Harman assured that being an MP was worse! They all agreed that more needed to be done to make the workforce reflect 21st century Britain.

They also took time to discuss what policies were important to them in the forthcoming election and the protection and improvement of the NHS featured very highly. The younger members there were also appreciative of the scrapping of stamp duty on homes under £300k for first time buyers, which was particularly important for them living in London. There was even time to criticise the controversial ‘beach body’ adverts which have appeared on the tube, with one member saying she loved seeing them when they’d been defaced!